Hendrick Motorsports has dealt with its share of recent setbacks.
Obviously Dale Earnhardt Jr. missing races because of concussion-like symptoms is on a different level. The team is working diligently to get Jeff Gordon up to speed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for his relief driving role this weekend. Earnhardt is missing his second consecutive race and will be out next weekend at Pocono as well, but he did visit the team shop on Wednesday.
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Earnhardt tweeted on Friday morning that he is starting to feel better and can see the "light at the end of the tunnel."
"He looks good; he is encouraged," team owner Rick Hendrick said Friday at Indianapolis. "He is following the doctor's orders. We're really excited. He is in great spirits. He wants to get back in the car. He wants to race, but he also knows that the regime they have him on will get him right for a long time. He's following doctor's orders, but I can tell he is getting antsy. But, he is going to do what they say."
Hendrick not only talked about Earnhardt's absence, but also looked back at the on-track setbacks his four-car team faced in recent weeks.
Jeff Gordon's Indy ride (via Twitter)
"It seems like when it rains, it pours," he said. "I think at Daytona we wrecked three or four cars. And then we went to Kentucky and wrecked again. We were in good shape in New Hampshire, but wrecked again."
At Daytona, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott were all caught up in the same crash. At Kentucky, Johnson and Elliott crashed. Alex Bowman, filling in for Earnhardt, crashed late at New Hampshire while running in the top 10.
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Johnson has a Chase for the Sprint Cup berth by virtue of his wins. Elliott is in a points position to make the field while Kahne is just outside of it. Johnson is the only Hendrick driver with a victory this season.
"I've been doing this long enough that you can't stay on top forever," Hendrick said. "You have to work hard to get back. And I think we've made a lot of improvements. I think we'll see some, hopefully, this weekend. But, you never like having a curveball."
Few challenges in recent years have been as daunting for Hendrick or his organization.
"This is kind of one of the toughest things you have to go through as one of your star drivers can't drive," Hendrick said. "And so, the encouraging news is that everybody just stepped up and is working harder."
He credits that to the team's "refuse-to-lose" belief.
However, with so many wrecks lately, the team is having to battle back.
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"Our place looks like a salvage yard where all of the cars have been tore up," he said. "But that just makes us dig harder. I think Junior, coming to the shop, was a big lift. Jeff being here is a big lift. Hopefully we'll turn the corner here pretty quick."
Gordon agreed. A co-owner of Johnson's team, he says that when a team is dominating the series, everyone else is motivated to catch up. Now it's Hendrick in that role.
"We're being highly motivated by other organizations and teams that are out there and are getting great results," he said. "But, we're too good of an organization not to find a way to only make ourselves better and stronger and our cars faster to get back to that place."
Video via Hendrick Motorsports and JeffGordon.com
Friday's practice led to Saturday's qualifying at Indianapolis. The Brickyard 400 begins about 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.